The Taint of Midas

by Anne Zouroudi

  The Messenger of Athens

  The Doctor of Thessaly

  The Lady of Sorrows

  The Whispers of Nemesis

  Dramatis Personae

  Gabrilis Kaloyeros – a bee-keeper and small-holder

  Maria – his wife (recently deceased)

  Hermes Diaktoros – the Fat Man, known to Gabrilis as The Professor

  Kokkona – the Fat Man’s housekeeper

  Sostis – a barber with a preference for fishing

  Ilias Mentis – a lawyer with responsibility for the Fat Man’s affairs

  Aris Paliakis – a property developer, and owner of the Taverna Delfini

  Ourania Paliakis – Aris’s wife

  Pandelis Paliakis – Aris’s eldest son, a lawyer

  Kylis Paliakis – Aris’s younger son

  Aris Paliakis Snr – Aris’s grandfather (deceased)

  Father Babis – a priest and close friend of Ourania Paliakis

  Sotiris, Grigor & Sonya – staff at the Taverna Delfini

  Telma Lalagi – a singer known as the Songbird

  Haroula & Katina – ladies of the night

  Costas & Vassilis – customers of Sostis the barber

  Manolis Alfieris – a planning officer

  Messrs Routsis, Horiatis & Fitrakis – employees of government departments

  Thanos Gazis – a police sergeant

  George Petridis – a police constable

  Yorgia – Petridis’s girlfriend

  Dinos Karayannis – a radio news journalist

  Manos Vrettos – driver of a car involved in an accident

  First published in 2008

  This electronic edition published in 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  Copyright © 2008 by Anne Zouroudi

  Map on p. vii © John Gilkes 2008

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  All rights reserved

  You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise

  make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means

  (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying,

  printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the

  publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication

  may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages

  Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  36 Soho Square,

  London W1D 3QY

  Bloomsbury Publishing, London, New York, Berlin and Sydney

  A CIP catalogue record for this book

  is available from the British Library

  ISBN 9781408822845

  Visit www.bloomsbury.com to find out more about our authors and their books

  You will find extracts, author interviews, author events and you can sign up for newsletters

  to be the first to hear about our latest releases and special offers